Ark Charter Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Portsmouth
Hyde Park Road, Southsea, PO5 4HL
58
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Not judged
Graded 10/12/2024
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
87.1%
32.9% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
883
Capacity used
Nearly full98%
900 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
105 of 105 families who put it first got an offer
180
Places offered
321
Total applications
1.8
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 105 | 105 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 94 | 53 | ● 56% |
| 3rd preference | 61 | 10 | ● 16% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 61 | 3 | ● 5% |
| Total | 321 | 171 | 53% |
1st preference success by year
Portsmouth lets families list 6 preferences. Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Christian Down
- Address
- Hyde Park Road, Southsea, PO5 4HL
- Phone
- 02392824204
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Ward / constituency
- Charles Dickens · Portsmouth South
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 135965
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 66% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 38% | — | — |
| SEN support | 19% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: ARK SCHOOLS
883 pupils · 900 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
10 December 2024
Full graded inspection
Not judged overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 958 pupils
Attendance
87.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
12.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
32.9%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
8.9%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
5.7%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 40.6 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.32 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 35% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 56% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.69 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 38.9 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 35.9% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 52.5% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 38.1% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.49 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 181 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 181 | 13% | 43% | 54% | |
| Mathematics | 180 | 15% | 38% | 58% | |
| English Literature | 162 | 16% | 52% | 67% | |
| Combined Science | 160 | 15% | 38% | 57% | |
| Religious Studies | 120 | 37% | 74% | 85% | |
| Geography | 102 | 17% | 40% | 55% | |
| Art and Design | 71 | 20% | 49% | 82% | |
| History | 62 | 10% | 42% | 50% | |
| Physical Education | 45 | 4% | 22% | 38% | |
| French | 42 | 12% | 62% | 81% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 30 | 27% | 53% | 67% | |
| Spanish | 26 | 35% | 62% | 77% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Portsmouth council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.